Canadian Occupational Safety

February/March 2013 19 By Mari-Len De Guzman W hen Bell Canada decided to make mental health the focus of its corporate advocacy more than two years ago, the company made sure it started in its own backyard. "We said, absolutely, if we are going to have a focus on our community investment in mental health, we must lead by example in our own workplace," says Mary Deacon, chair of the Bell Mental Health Initiative. Training in mental health became mandatory for all Bell managers, says Deacon. During these extensive train- ing sessions, managers learn facts about mental health, how to spot early warning signs of mental illness, what the role of a manager is, what to do and say — what not to do and say — and what support is avail- able for workers. The hope is to give them a great sense of confi dence to undertake their role as managers, Deacon says. It was important for Bell to create an atmosphere where its employees feel that mental health is an acceptable issue to talk about at work. "And we know, absolutely a hundred per cent, that early and appropriate attention to mental health issues creates the best opportunity for successful out- come and recovery. The longer people suffer in silence, the more diffi cult it is to recover," says Deacon, who is no stranger to the issue having spent eight years as president of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation in Toronto, before joining Bell Canada. Bell also revisited and revised its return-to-work process — through the help of mental health experts — to ensure it is able to facilitate a successful return-to-work for employees, based on three criteria for success: the experience of the employee going through the process; the length of disability; and the relapse rate. The new return-to-work pro- gram was piloted in several of Bell's business units, and Deacon says the results were encouraging. "The feedback qualitatively from our employees was amazing," she says. "They felt supported, they felt respected, they didn't feel that they were treated any differently going off with a mental health issue as a physical health issue." The length of disability was also shorter and the relapse rate was lower, adds Deacon. Early intervention and access to the right resources, more frequent communication and effective workplace reinte- gration were the three key components that enabled the success of Bell's new return-to- work program, Deacon says. "That's a win-win no matter how you look at it. So to the issue of cost, here's a perfect example of how investing in mental health in the workplace has an impact on cost," she says. When the Bell Mental Health Initiative was launched in 2010, Bell Canada announced it is contributing $50 million to mental health initiatives over the next fi ve years. The initiative helped fund the development of the fi rst national standard on psychological health and safety in the workplace. Bell's Mental Health Initiative — through the Bell Let's Talk campaign — is based on "four pillars," according to Deacon: workplace mental health, research, community care and anti-stigma. "My hope would be that we get to a place where we con- sider psychological health and safety in the workplace as important as physical health and safety in the workplace, and that we have the same kind of focus and effort on mental health as we do on physical health," says Deacon. WALKING THE TALK Canada's Safest Employers will gather past award recipients in a panel discussion on safety leadership and safety culture excellence, and what it takes to become one of Canada's Safest Employers at the 2013 Partners in Prevention conference. WHEN: Wednesday, May 1, 2013 @ 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. WHERE: 2013 Partners in Prevention Conference and Tradeshow The International Centre Mississauga, Ont. SPEAKERS: Mark Henderson, COO and EVP of Asset Management, PowerStream — 2012 Canada's Safest Employers Silver Recipient Steve Loftus, General Manager/Owner, Innovative Automation Inc. — 2011 Canada's Safest Employers Winner Ester Di Giovanni, Health, Safety, Environment, Quality & Security Specialist, Atotech Canada — 2011 Canada's Safest Employers Winner Peterborough Utilities Group (speaker TBD) — 2012 Canada's Safest Employers Gold Winner MODERATOR: Mari-Len De Guzman, Editor, Canadian Occupational Safety DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES? EARLY AND APPROPRIATE ATTENTION TO MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES CREATES THE BEST OPPORTUNITY FOR SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME AND RECOVERY Mary Deacon, chair, Bell Mental Health Initiative

• COS_Feb2013CoverDIGITAL.indd